At a time when international discord over the provision of coronavirus vaccines is increasing, the initiative launched this week for a global pandemic treaty must become a top priority for world leaders.
In a long-overdue gesture of international solidarity, 24 world leaders earlier this week published a joint article calling for a treaty that would enable politicians to provide a more effective global response in the event of another outbreak on the scale of the coronavirus pandemic.
The signatories to the article, which was published simultaneously in newspapers in Britain, France, Spain and Germany, included British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation. The most notable absentees were the US and China.
In the article, the leaders insist that a treaty akin to the settlement forged in the wake of the Second World War is needed to build cross-border cooperation ahead of the next international health crisis. They describe the coronavirus pandemic as “the biggest challenge to the global community since the 1940s”.
Pointing out that, after the devastation caused by two world wars, “political leaders came together to forge the multilateral system”, the leaders argue that a treaty on pandemics “should lead to more accountability and shared responsibility, transparency and cooperation within the international system and with its rules and norms”.
The fact that the article was signed by the leaders of Britain, France and Germany must be regarded as a welcome development following recent disputes between these key European powers over the production and distribution of vaccines.
Ever since pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer and AstraZeneca announced at the end of last year that they had developed an effective vaccine against Covid-19, tensions have been building as nations seek to acquire sufficient supplies of the vaccine to inoculate their populations against the deadly virus.
This is particularly the case in Europe, where Britain’s success in managing to vaccinate more than half the adult population – in excess of 30 million people – within the space of just two months has provoked bitter criticism from the EU, which has accused the UK of acquiring stocks of vaccine supplies at the expense of other European nations.
The EU’s unhappiness with the unqualified success of Britain’s vaccine roll-out, which has been made possible by the UK government’s decision last year to opt out of the EU’s own vaccine programme, has even resulted in Brussels threatening to limit supplies to Britain.
Nor are the ongoing tensions between Britain and the EU the only major source of tension in what have been dubbed “vaccine wars”. Poorer countries, particularly in Africa, claim they are being denied access to much-needed supplies because the major pharmaceutical companies that are manufacturing the vaccines prefer to do business with the wealthier Western democracies.
Indeed, the virus has now travelled to every continent and infected more than 100 million people globally just over a year since it was first declared a global health emergency.
As bodies like the WHO are constantly reminding us, the pandemic is a truly global phenomenon, and for the virus to be brought under control it is vital that everyone has access to effective vaccines. For there is little prospect of normal travel and trade arrangements being resumed if a pattern emerges whereby the wealthier nations are able to inoculate their populations while poorer nations remain the grip of the pandemic.
If any lesson is to be learnt from the experience of the 14 months since the virus was first identified in the Chinese province of Wuhan, it is that Covid-19 does not respect global borders. Consequently, so long as the virus exists in one country, it remains a threat to the rest of the world. As the new mantra regarding the global effort to eradicate the virus warns, “nobody is safe until everyone is safe”.
There is also an important economic argument for ensuring that every nation is able to vaccinate their populations, and not just the wealthy few.
A study commissioned by the International Chamber of Commerce has estimated that the global economy would lose $9.2 trillion if governments fail to ensure developing countries have access to Covid-19 vaccines.
The mounting awareness that as much attention needs to be paid to making sure poorer countries have the same level of access to vaccines as wealthier nations has already led to the creation of the WHO’s Covax programme. The aim of Covax, which is supported by Britain, European countries and the UAE, among others, is to coordinate purchases globally to ensure poorer countries are not priced out of the vaccine race.
But even though Covax aims to distribute more than 330 million vaccine doses to 145 countries in an initial round of distribution by June 2021, critics argue it is little more than an aid programme, and that it is failing to meet the needs of poorer countries because rich nations have already bought up nearly all of the early doses of the vaccines. The WHO has stated that 90 per cent of Covid-19 vaccines have been given in richer countries.
This is why a new pandemic treaty is so essential, as it would commit advanced economies to be more co-operative with less fortunate nations. A new treaty would also help to improve global co-operation on alert systems, data sharing and research which could prove vital to creating greater global resilience to future pandemics.
Certainly, if the acrimony and mistrust that has undermined the global response to the Covid-19 outbreak are to be avoided in future, then it is essential that an international framework is established that ensures proper global co-operation, which would be far more effective than the current policy of every nation acting in its own, selfish interests.
Con Coughlin is a defence and foreign affairs columnist for The National
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
SCHEDULE
Thursday, December 6
08.00-15.00 Technical scrutineering
15.00-17.00 Extra free practice
Friday, December 7
09.10-09.30 F4 free practice
09.40-10.00 F4 time trials
10.15-11.15 F1 free practice
14.00 F4 race 1
15.30 BRM F1 qualifying
Saturday, December 8
09.10-09.30 F4 free practice
09.40-10.00 F4 time trials
10.15-11.15 F1 free practice
14.00 F4 race 2
15.30 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi
Results
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The five pillars of Islam
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
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LOVE%20AGAIN
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Naga
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Royal Birkdale Golf Course
Location: Southport, Merseyside, England
Established: 1889
Type: Private
Total holes: 18
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Kandahar%20
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The years Ramadan fell in May
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
The%20specs
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
ELECTION%20RESULTS
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Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
